Le Capitaine Fracasse - 1963 Film Poster starring Jean Marais


TIMELINE
PART 1
(BEFORE 1800)

PART 1
(BEFORE 1800)

PART 2
(1800-1900)

PART 3
(1900-1945)

PART 4
(1945-PRESENT)

PART 5
(THE FUTURE)


Notre-Dame de Paris 1428:
Quasimodo the Hunchback exposes the evil archdeacon of Notre-Dame of Paris, Dom Claude Frollo, but cannot save the beautiful Esmeralda. (Victor Hugo - Notre-Dame de Paris)

1550:
The adventures of
Monsieur Blackshirt. (Graham Jefferies - Monsieur Blackshirt)

1572:
Beginning of the adventures of the
Chevalier de Pardaillan, and of Princess Fausta, a descendent of Lucrezia Borgia. (Michel Zevaco - Les Pardaillan)
Patrick Bouchitey as Pardaillan in a 1988 TV adaptation

Nicolas Silberg as Bussy in a 1971 TV adaptation

La Dame de Monsoreau

1574:
The fearless Count Louis de
Bussy d'Amboise, and Chicot the Jester and one of France's deadliest swordsmen, fight for the honor of Queen Margot. (Alexandre Dumas - La Reine Margot)

1578:
Death of
Bussy following his love affair with Diane de Meridor, Countess of Monsoreau. (Alexandre Dumas - La Dame de Monsoreau)

Les Quarante-Cinq
1585:
Chicot
fights for Henry IV in the affair of the Forty-Five. (Alexandre Dumas - Les Quarante-Cinq)

1587:
End of the adventures of the
Chevalier de Pardaillan. (Michel Zevaco - Les Pardaillan)

1625
In Italy, near Spolete, François Vitelli, designated heir of the Prince of Monteleone, is murdered by his cousin Ercole Vitelli under the eyes of his son, Andrea Vitelli (Paul Féval- Bel Demonio)

D'Artagnan

1628:
D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers (Athos, Porthos and Aramis) fight to protect the Queen of France from the evil schemes of Milady and the Cardinal de Richelieu. (Alexandre Dumas - Les Trois Mousquetaires)

1635
Andrea Vitelli returns as Bel Demonio, leader of a gang of thieves and murderers, founder of the secret conspiracy of the Brothers of Mercy, ready to avenge his father's death (Paul Féval- Bel Demonio) SEE ARTICLE

1648
:
D'Artagnan
and the Three Musketeers fight Milady's son, Mordaunt, and the nefarious plots of Cardinal de Mazarin. (Alexandre Dumas - Vingt Ans Apres) SEE ARTICLE

Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano de Bergerac's interplanetary travels1655:
Presumed death of
Andrea Vitelli (Paul Féval- Bel Demonio)

1657:
The exploits of
Cyrano de Bergerac; first interplanetary travels (Cyrano de Bergerac - Autres Mondes & Edmond Rostand - Cyrano de Bergerac) SEE ARTICLE

Le Masque de Fer - 1962 film starring Jean Marais as d'Artagnan

1660:
D'Artagnan
and the Three Musketeers become involved in the affair of the Man in the Iron Mask. Death of Porthos, and soon after of Athos. (Alexandre Dumas - Le Vicomte de Bragelonne)

Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine, the Man who Laughs (1928)

1670:
Gwynplaine
, the "Man who Laughs", makes his mark in England. (Victor Hugo - L'Homme qui Rit)

1673:
Death of
d'Artagnan. (Alexandre Dumas - Le Vicomte de Bragelonne)

1676:
Explorer
Jacques Sadeur discovers an elaborate utopia inhabited by an enlightened Antipodean race. (Gabriel de Foigny - La Terre Australe Connue)

Jean Piat as Lagardere & Michele Grellier as Aurore in a 1967 TV adaptation
1710:
The
Chevalier de Lagardere saves Aurore of Nevers from the sinister machinations of the Prince of Gonzague who had her father killed. (Paul Féval - Le Bossu)

Explorer
Jacques Massé discovers a "Land that Time Forgot" near South Africa. (Simon Tyssot de Patot - Voyages et Aventures de Jacques Massé)

1715:
The son of a squire and a chambermaid,
Gil Blas of Santillane, leaves home and embarks on a series of picaresque exploits. (Le Sage - Gil Blas de Santillane)

1718:
The
Chevalier d'Harmental takes part in a daring plot against Philippe d'Orleans, the Regent. (Alexandre Dumas - Le Chevalier d'Harmental)

1720:
The Rev. Father
Pierre de Mesange discovers an opening leading to a vast subterranean empire -- Pellucidar? (Simon Tyssot de Patot - La Vie, les Aventures et le Voyage de Groenland du Révérend Père Cordelier Pierre de Mésange)

Jacques Destoop as d'Harmental in a 1966 TV adaptation


Le Loup Blanc - 1978 Television adaptation starring Jacques Rosny
F.-E. Gendron as de Nossac & Anne Canovas as Lily in a 1982 TV adaptation

1720:
Disguised as the
White Wolf, Jean Blanc fights for justice in the forest of Rennes. (Paul Féval - Le Loup Blanc) SEE ARTICLE

1722:
See
1739.

1723:
In a forest near Danzig, young baron
Philippe de Nossac meets the masked Veneur Noir (Dark Hunter), a powerful crime lord, who may have resurrected his dead fiancee, Lily. (Ponson du Terrail - La Baronne Trépassée)

1735:
End of the adventures of
Gil Blas of Santillane, now secretary of the Spanish Prime Minister. (Le Sage - Gil Blas de Santillane)
Le Bossu (Poster for the 1959 film starring Jean Marais)
1735:
Disguised as the
Hunchback, Lagardere exposes and defeats the villainous Prince of Gonzague. (Paul Féval - Le Bossu)

1739:
Birth of the man who will eventually be known as the
Count of Monteleone, Fra Diavolo and Colonel Bozzo-Corona, leader of the Black Coats. (Note: Another reported date was 1722.) (Paul Féval - Les Compagnons du Silence - Les Habits Noirs) SEE ARTICLE

1743:
Birth of
Joseph Balsamo. SEE ARTICLE

1752:
Voltaire's close encounter with the alien
Micromegas from Sirius. SEE ARTICLE

1753:
The
Chevalier des Grieux fall in love with Manon Lescaut. (Abbé Prevost - Manon Lescaut)

1759:
The unlucky nobleman
Candide embarks on a series of misadventures. (Voltaire - Candide)

1760:
A team of French African explorers discover the secret land of
Giphantie, where a race of secret supermen live in royal isolation. (Tiphaigne de la Roche - Giphantie)

1765:
Adventures of the clever manservant
Figaro in Seville. (Beaumarchais - Le Barbier de Seville)

1768:
Wedding of Figaro. (Beaumarchais -
Le Mariage de Figaro)

1770:
Birth of
Helen Brown, mother of John Devil. (Paul Féval - Jean Diable).

Joseph Balsamo - 1973 television adaptation starring Jean Marais.
Le Collier de la Reine

Virginie dies in a shipwreck (painting by Prudhon)

1770-74:
Freemason alchemist
Joseph Balsamo uses his hypnotic powers to plot the downfall of French monarchy. (Alexandre Dumas - Joseph Balsamo) SEE ARTICLE

1775:
Visitation of Earth by a crew of Mercurian scientists led by Scintilla. (Louis-Guillaume de La Follie -
Le Philosophe sans Prétention) SEE ARTICLE

Also, birth of
François Vidocq in Arras (prototype for Lecoq).

1783
Birth of David Heimer who will become Johann Spurzheim. (Paul Féval - Les Compagnons du Silence).

1785:
Cagliostro
(Joseph Balsamo under another name) continues the fight against the monarchy and sets in motion the notorious affair of the Queen's Necklace. (Alexandre Dumas - Le Collier de la Reine) SEE ARTICLE

1786:
Ann Ward
(later Radcliffe) travels to the vampire city of Selene in Serbia and kills vampire king Goetzi. (Paul Féval - La Ville Vampire)

1788:
The doomed love story of
Paul and Virginie. (Bernardin de St. Pierre - Paul et Virginie)

Birth of
Josephine Balsamo. SEE ARTICLE

1789:
Beginning of the French Revolution.

1791:
The adventures of
Ange Pitou. (Alexandre Dumas - Ange Pitou)

1793:
The
Chevalier de Maison-Rouge fights for justice during the Reign of Terror and hatches a plot to free Queen Marie-Antoinette. (Alexandre Dumas - Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge)

The
Scarlet Pimpernel fights Chauvelin. (Baroness Orczy - The Scarlet Pimpernel)

Birth of Count Henri de Belcamp. (Paul Féval - Jean Diable)

1795: A meteorite falls in Wold Newton, U.K.
SEE ARTICLE


1796
:
Jean Valjean is sent to the Toulon Penitentiary. (Victor Hugo - Les Misérables)

1797:
Hungarian alchemist
Wilhelm Storitz discovers the secret of invisibility. (Jules Verne - Le Secret de Wilhelm Storitz)

Les Compagnons de Jehu - 1966 TV adaptation
1799:
A gang of young noblemen (
Morgan, Adler, Montbar, d'Assas) turned bandits and calling themselves the Companions of Jehu, plot against Bonaparte. (Alexandre Dumas - Les Compagnons de Jehu)

Between 1795-1801:
Birth of Fergus O'Breane. (Paul Féval - Les Mystères de Londres)

Birth of
Lecoq (aka Toulonnais l'Amitié) of the Black Coats, and father of Monsieur Lecoq. (birth dates have been reported as 1795 and 1803.) Also birth of Dr. Samuel (1800?) and Maman Leo (Leocadie Samayoux). (Paul Féval - Les Habits Noirs)